Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC is scheduled to release first-quarter 2018 results on Apr 25, before the opening bell.
The Defense giant’s Aerospace Systems remains the major growth driver. The company’s first-quarter results are expected to gain from the same. Lower corporate tax also is likely to boost results.
Let’s discuss the factors influencing Northrop Grumman’s quarterly results, in brief.
Aerospace Systems — A Key Catalyst
The Aerospace Systems segment fetches almost half of Northrop Grumman’s sales and has traditionally been a primary contributor to its top-line growth. The segment’s sales are likely to benefit from increased demand as well as aircraft deliveries. Notably, in the first quarter, the company received a number of contracts for this segment.
Among them, the significant ones are the $429-million contract for developing two Extremely High Frequency Data Rate (EHF XDR) payloads and a $255-million contact for low-rate initial production (LRIP) of three MQ-4C Triton. Such contract wins are likely to boost the Aerospace Systems segment’s first-quarter revenues.
In line with this, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Aerospace Systems segment stands at $3,131 million, reflecting annual growth of 16.1%.
Other Factors to Consider
The company’s total sales growth has been historically benefited from higher sales at the Aerospace Systems and Mission Systems segment. We expect the upcoming quarterly result to reflect this trend as well.
Consequently, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues of $2,870 million reflect an annual increase of 5%, as the company is expected to continue with its increase in production rates for Sensors and Processing programs.
Cumulatively, this is likely to boost the company’s total sales growth for the first quarter. Evidently, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter revenues is pegged at $6,583 million, reflecting annual growth of 5.1%.
While lower corporate tax on account of the recent tax reform is likely to boost the company’s top line, Northrop Grumman is expected to incur notable expenses in regard to its Orbital ATK acquisition. These two opposite forces may neutralize each other, as a result of which our consensus estimate for the company’s first-quarter earnings of $3.63 per share remained in line with the year-ago quarter’s figure.
Further updates on the company’s Orbital ATK acquisition can be expected once it releases first-quarter results.
Northrop Grumman Corporation Price and EPS Surprise
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